Roasting rack



D. K. FERRIS ROASTING RACK Aug. 29, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 5, 1947 M w m m [go/mm K. FERR/S B Aug 9, 1950 D. K. FERRIS 2,520,389

ROASTING RACK Filed July 5, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

' DJP JALD K. FERR/S Patented Aug. 29, 1950 UNITED srArEs PATENT OFFICE 2,520,389 ROAST-1N6 RACK Donald Ferris, Dayton, Ohio Application July 5, 1947, S.eriaI.N0.'759,19 1

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates .to an adjustable rack or .grid of the type adapted tosupport meat roasts and other foods during the cooking process and also to support such foods for carving or cooling after they have been cooked, baked, or otherwise prepared for human consumption.

One of the objectsof the invention is .to provide a rack or grid device which may be. easily adjusted to accommodate roasts, poultry, and the like, of various sizes and weights.

Another object is to provide a roasting rack of the foregoing characteristics wherein the supporting grills may be adjusted to a fiat position, thereby to render it usable as a cooling rack for cakes the like, the construction of the rack permitting free circulation of air about all surfaces of the articles to be cooled.

A further object of the invention is to provide a roasting and cooling rack which may be easily collapsed into a compact form for storing when not in use.

Another object is to provide a roasting and cooling rack of such simple construction as to render the cleaning thereof an easy task.

Still another object-is to provide a roastingand cooling rack of low cost, the component parts thereof being fabricated on punch presses and assembled without the use of welds, screws, rivets, and the like.

These and-other objects and advantages are attained by the means described herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective viewiof the rack or grid showing the device in one of the positions for supporting a roast or the like.

Fig. 2 is perspective view showing the device cross section, showing the rackin fully extended or iiattened position, adapted to be 'usedfor coolingcakes and the like. 7

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental perspective view of a detail of the invention showing the construction of a support grill.

Fig. 5 is an enlargednfragmental perspective. view of a base. member, showing the method of reinforcing said member:

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmental cross sectional view of the base connecting strap, taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a portion of the device, taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Although there are various types of roasting racks available upon the market, there is a need for a rack which may be manufactured cheaply by mass production methods and sold to the cross section, being provided with outwardlyex-f Each base member,

tending flanges l3and M; intermediate. 'its ends and adjacent the lower flange I3, is provided with a slit l6 (Fig. 6),

through which the ends ll of the connecting" strap l2 are inserted. Theends I! protrude sum ciently through the base .members 9 and Into permit 'turningsa id ends under the lower flange it of each base member, as'indicated in Fig; 6..

By forming the ends "Ll .of' lesser width than the main portion ill of the connecting strapl'Z, as shown in Fig. '7; the base members 5 and in are held in rigid parallelism, since the. shoulders. ra -49 of the strap 12, 'by their abutment against the inner faces of the base member vertical web portions Ell -20, provide substantial reinforcement against angular movement of said base members. Rigidity maybe impartedto the connecting strap "l2 by longitudinally crimping its. main portion l8 toffo'rman inverted V, as shown in Fig. 3. ihe verticalweb-portion 20 of each base mem ber is provided with a pair of identical inwardly and upwardlyinclinedslots El-22, one slot of each pair being the reverse of its mate. These slots serve as runways for the wire loops 23 and 2 laterally extending fromjthe sides of a pair of identical support grills '26 and 27.

As shown in Fig. 1, the support grills 26 and,

provided at its opposite e'nds'with a hook or loop 24. After insertion through the apertures 3l the ends '32 of the wire are swaged flat or otherwise formed to preclude longitudinal movement of the wire rod3'3 in the grill flanges 3B; As indicated in Fig. 4, the edge of the flange 3fl is notched, as at 3'4, to receive the wire rod '33 thereby to preclude pivotal movement of said rod in the apertures 3!.

As hereinbefere recited, the inclined slots 2| and 22 serve as runways for the wire loops 23 and It will be noted in Fig. 3, that the slots are provided with a series of notches or serrations 3t, 3?, and 32, which serve as seats for that portion of the wire loop indicated at 39 in Fig. l. The grills are thus adjustable to various angular positions. One of the angular positions is shown in Fig. l, the loop portions 39 being disposed in the notches 38, while the loop portions 49 rest upon the lower smooth edges ii of the slots 2i and 22, thereby to support the grills in an inclined position. The supporting grills 2t and 2? may be spaced farther apart by engaging the loop portions 39 in any of the remaining notches such as 35 or 3?. The inner termini of the slots 2! and 22 are turned upwardly to form the seats 32 for positioning the grill supports 26 and 2? to a substantially closed V formation.

Thus it will be seen that when the loo-p portions 39 are seated in oppositely mating notches in'the base members 9 and ID, the longitudinal axes of the supporting grills 26 and 21 will be substantially parallel. In these positions, the rack is adapted to support roasts of meat during the cooking process, heat being permitted to circulate about all surfaces of the roast by virtue of the openings 28 in the grills. In some cases, it maybe desirable to adjust the grills 26 and 2'! to a V formation having the longitudinal axes of the grills converging, as when baking a ham or roasting a fowl. In such cases, the loop portions 39, at one end of the grills, are seated in notches toward the outer ends of one base member, while the opposite loop portions 39 are seated in notches toward the center of the opposite base member. For instance, if loop portions 39 are seated in notches 36 of base memher 9, and the loop portions 39 at the other end of the grills are seated in notches 38 or 42 of base member ID, the axially converging grills 26 and 21 will be ideally suited to support a ham in a substantially horizontal position.

, It will be noted that an enlarged notch 43, between the seats 38 and 42, has been provided in each slot 2| and 22. By disposing the loop portions 39 in the enlarged notches 42, the grills Hand '21 will assume the fully extended position' shown in Fig. 3, wherein the grills are disposed in substantial coplanar relationship with each other, and with the top flanges M of the base members 9 and II]. In this position the device is readily adapted for supporting cakes while they are permitted to cool, serving in such function to expose the under surface of the cake to the atmosphere by virtue of the various openings 28 provided in the grills and therebetween. As shown in Fig. 5, the outer termini of the slots 2| and 22 are turned upwardly and inwardly close to the flanges M, to form a substantial half circle 44. This semi-circular terminus of the slots permits a pivoting movement of the grills 26 and 21 to the folded or collapsed position shown in Fig. 2. In this position the wire loops 23 and 24 are disposed in the semi-circular track 44; as pictured in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the device in the collapsed or folded position, wherein one grill overlaps the other between the base members 9 and I0, assumes a very compact form, permitting storage in small space when not in use.

Since the structure of the base members 9 and I may be weakened by virtue of the removal of material in forming the semi-circular track 44, reinforcing means for the vertical web portion 20 of said bases may be provided. In the instant case, an elongated groove 46 is stamped in the base members adjacent the outer ends thereof, as indicated in Fig. 5. Other means for reinforcing the-base members 9 and It] may be employed, such as providing an outwardly turned flange at the ends of said base members.

From the foregoing, it will readily be seen that the device of the present invention lends itself to mass production methods, the principal parts thereof being fabricated upon punch presses from sheet metal. Since there are no welds, rivets, or the like used in the assembly of the device, no skilled labor need be employed in the fabrication of the rack, resulting in substantial savings in the cost of labor.

The device is simple of construction, hence easily cleaned after use and quickly collapsed or folded for storage.

It is to be understood, of course, that various structural changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A roasting rack comprising a pair of simi lar base members each provided with a pair of elongated similar slots, a substantially smooth lower edge on each slot, spaced seats along the opposite edge of each slot, means connecting the base members in spaced parallelism, a pair of similar grills each comprising an open frame, a lateral extension on each side of each grill, a bearing surface on each extension adapted to selectively engage a seat, and a bearing surface on each extension adapted to rest upon the smooth edge of the slot whereby said grills may be adjustably supported in roast-receiving posi tion, and arcuate outer termini in said slots in which the grill extensions may track in disposing one grill upon the other in overlapping relation to assume a collapsed position.

2. A roasting rack comprising a pair of similar base members each provided with a pair of elongated similar slots, a substantially smooth lower edge on each slot, spaced seats along the opposite edge of each slot, means connecting the base members in spaced parallelism, a pair of similar grills each comprising an open frame, a

lateral extension on each side of each grill, a

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 124,197 Lynch Dec. 24, 1940 2,316,620 Rees Apr. 13, 1943 2,360,026 Wall Oct. 10, 1944 

